The Wildmother
|Appearances= |Last = |Count = 5 | C9App = false | C10App = false | C11App = false | C12App = true | C13App = true | C14App = true | C15App = true |Name = The Wildmother |AKA = Melora |CreatureType = Deity |Alignment = True Neutral |Connections = Erathis (lover) Lamor (worshipper) Caduceus Clay (worshipper) Gladys (worshipper) Fjord (follower) |Status = Active |ImageSize = |AppID = |Stats = |Abilities = }} Melora, the Wildmother is the goddess of wilderness and the sea. She watches over nature, good harvest, grants protection from washing away in storms, guides the passage of ships, and protects smaller folk. As an NPC, The Wildmother is played by Matthew Mercer. 'Symbols' Spiral of Decay]] In addition to the staff-and-wreath, one of Melora's symbols is a swirl carved into stone, a slow cascading spiral with a wave crest at the center. (This should not be confused with the jagged spiral sometimes used by followers of The Chained Oblivion, which is sometimes called The Spiral of Decay.) In her role as a goddess of sea life, this symbol is also often painted onto a sea shell. (See below right for an example made from a seashell.) 'Artifacts' The Spire of Conflux, a staff capable of casting powerful druidic spells and increasing the power of the wielder's spells, was made from the Wildmother's breath. It is currently wielded by the archdruid Keyleth, Headmaster of the Air Ashari tribe in Zephrah, Tal'Dorei. 'Places of Worship & Holy Sites' 'Issylra' The district of Vasselheim known as Abundant Terrace is dedicated to the Wildmother. The Abundant Terrace is where most of the food in Vasselheim is grown. In such a cold environment it is Melora's blessing that allows the land there to be fertile and grow crops from many different places. The temple in this district devoted to her worship is called the the Birthheart. 'Wildemount' Worship of the Wildmother is banned in the Dwendalian Empire. Outside of the Empire, there are four notable holy sites or shrines dedicated to the Wildmother that are currently known: * The Blooming Grove: Caduceus Clay and his family tended the graveyard in the Blooming Grove, which was a magically-warded sanctum that contained graves of people who had been touched by The Wildmother in the Savalirwood near Shadycreek Run. * The Mother's Lighthouse: In Nicodranas, there is a lighthouse called the Mother's Lighthouse that is dedicated to the worship of the Wildmother. It had been kept by Lightkeeper Gladys for her entire 86-year life. * Cinderrest Sanctum: (also known as "The Kiln" or "The Burning Lodge") Caduceus Clay's allies of the Dust Clan have their home in the Underforge of The Wildmother, a gift to The Allhammer located within Kravaraad. Kravaraad is a craggy black volcano with a lake at its base. * The Arbor Exemplar: A lone, massive tree located in the Barbed Fields of Xhorhas. The Arbor Exemplar is surrounded by verdant grass which grows out a hundred feet or so during the night and then retracts during the day. The Arbor Exemplar is the sister tree of the Birthheart in Vasselheim. Commandments of the Wildmother }} 'Known Worshipers' One worshiper in Westruun keeps a statue of Melora in her home. When the statue was broken, the owner said that she knew she would be forgiven for letting the statue break. * Caduceus Clay, cleric of the Blooming Grove * Fjord, warlock/paladin of Port Damali * Gladys, Lightkeeper of the Mother's Lighthouse * Lamor, worshiper at The Birtheart in the Abundant Terrace (in Vasselheim) * Ophera, High Hierophant of The Birtheart in the Abundant Terrace (in Vasselheim) 'History' 'Background' During the Calamity, Melora created the Spire of Conflux, one of the Vestiges of Divergence. Along with the rest of the Prime Dieties, the Wildmother left the Material Plane and sealed herself behind the Divine Gate during the Divergence. Towards the end of the Calamity, the Wildmother planted a seed in the most desolate place in the world before withdrawing beyond the Divine Gate. That place is now the Barbed Fields of Xhorhas, where the huge tree stands alone in the middle of dangerous plains. Called the Arbor Exemplar, it is considered the sister of the tree in the The Abundant Terrace, the main temple of the Wildmother in Vasselheim. The Wildmother is in a relationship, ableit fractured, with the goddess of civilization and laws: Erathis. The fractured nature of the relationship reflects the disparity between civilization and nature, and Melora greatly wishes for the two to return to the harmony they once had. 'Campaign 1: Vox Machina' The Spire of Conflux was one of several Vestiges of Divergence found by Vox Machina while gathering power to defeat the Chroma Conclave. 'Campaign 2: The Mighty Nein' ' ' Caduceus Clay cast Divination to ask The Wildmother about Fjord's mentor Vandran. He heard a warm voice along with an unexpected hot wind on a cold night say "Staying out of sight. Making amends." ' ' While the Mighty Nein were trying to figure out who had kidnapped Yeza Brenatto, Caduceus Clay cast Divination asking The Wildmother "what is Yeza's destination?". He feels the wind around him pick up and a voice speaks through the wind- "Ghor Dranas". ' ' Jester Lavorre cast Revivify on Caduceus Clay after Nott accidentally killed him with an explosive arrow. For an instant she felt a presence and saw a matronly smile and a figure with tumbling hair in the shadows. Jester told Caduceus she saw The Wildmother looking over him and smiling. While he was in darkness, Caduceus had a vision of green fields, ice-covered land, a fiery forge, and glimpses of scattered historical families. A warm breeze blew east past the mountains and the wastes. Caduceus mysteriously felt like he is on the right path. ' ' casting Commune|artist=Nikki Dawes|source=https://twitter.com/nikkidawesdraws/status/1154867853457338369}} ]] Caduceus Clay cast Commune while the Mighty Nein camped near the Arbor Exemplar in the Barbed Fields. He asked if the tree was hers. The Wildmother responded it was her last and final seed. He asked what was keeping her away. She responded the land was still scarred since the gods all left. He finally asked if he was here to fix the landscape. She responded "It's too big to fix. Your path is your own." Trivia * The Wildmother's holy day is Wild's Grandeur, celebrated on the vernal equinox. References Art: Category:Prime Deities Category:LGBTQ+ Characters